Ammo discovery leads to Farmington High lockdown

Authorities placed Farmington High School on lockdown for more than an hour Friday, after a loaded pistol magazine was found in the school auditorium.

According to a press release, Farmington Public Safety officers responded at 11 a.m. and enlisted the help of local K9 teams to sweep the building. The lockdown was lifted after the search revealed no threats to student safety.

Police will continue to investigate the incident and plan to release more information as it becomes available.

Farmington High principal Tom Shelton in a message to parents on Facebook said school officials can share only limited information because of the ongoing investigation. However, he added, “most of the things I have heard and read over the last ten hours are simply untrue, or pure unsubstantiated speculation.”

“Students have reacted in a wide variety of ways, as would be expected under the circumstances, and the best we can do as caring adults at this time is to listen and reassure the best we can. At the same time, based on recommendation of our local law enforcement, there is no reason at this time to believe that students are at risk,” he wrote.

While Sunday’s graduation ceremony and next week’s classes will go on as planned, Shelton said, school officials are discussing whether to take additional security precautions.